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The Telecom Digest
Sunday, January 8, 2023

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Copyright © 2023 E. William Horne. All Rights Reserved.
Volume 42 Table of Contents Issue 8
UT: Layton woman scammed by T-Mobile impersonator
TX: 911 service restored in Grayson County
Exec: FWA is an “Excess Capacity Model” But T-Mobile is Considering Capex to Expand It
Message-ID: <8D17D08D-77EC-48F1-B25E-C8C21B0F9CA7@herot.com> Date: Sat, 07 Jan 2023 10:43:27 -0500 From: Christopher Herot <cherot@herot.com> Subject: Re: UT: Layton woman scammed by T-Mobile impersonator On 6 Jan 2023 10:58:26 -0500, Bill Horne wrote: > > This story is told by TV reporters in Salt Lake CIty, UT, and > although I don't usually post info about TV shows, I'm making an > exception, since the crime that was described sounds like something > unusual. > > If you can provide details about how such a fraud could be > perpetrated, please send in a reply with details. Thank you! > > Bill Horne, Moderator > > https://www.fox13now.com/news/fox-13-investigates/layton-woman-scammed-by-t-mobile-impersonator This is a pretty common form of fraud. The perpetrator generates a legitimate 2FA message, e.g. by clicking the “forgot password” link on the T-Mobile website. The fraud is in tricking the victim into divulging the subsequent code. The safeguard I keep in mind is that if someone calls me, the burden is on them to prove their identity to me. It’s a pretty clear indication of fraud if someone calls me and then asks me for confidential information. Most well-designed customer service systems take this into account and train their reps accordingly. I have gotten occasional legitimate calls from a bank’s fraud prevention department about a questionable transaction, e.g. a card-not-present transaction made in another country, but they just ask me if I made the purchase without needing me to give them a PIN or anything.
Message-ID: <f471a024-ee97-a77b-84a6-5fe0230105c5@tlc-labs.com> Date: 7 Jan 2023 11:35:19 -0600 From: "Leo A. Wrobel" <leo@tlc-labs.com> Subject: Re: TX: 911 service restored in Grayson County On 6 Jan 2023 11:37:52 -0500, Bill Horne wrote: > Message-ID: <tp9ip0$36qpj$3@dont-email.me> > Date: 6 Jan 2023 11:37:52 -0500 > From: Bill Horne <malQRMassimilation@gmail.com> > Subject: TX: 911 service restored in Grayson County > > By KXII Staff > Published: Jan. 5, 2023 at 4:52 PM EST|Updated: 2 hours ago > > FRIDAY MORNING UPDATE: All 9-1-1 service is restored, according to the > telecommunications companies. > > ORIGINAL STORY: > > GRAYSON COUNTY, Texas (KXII) - The Sherman Police Department is > experiencing another 911 outage Thursday. > > On a social media post the department said they are working to get > lines restored. > > https://www.kxii.com/2023/01/05/sherman-police-experiencing-911-outage/ >
>Moderator's Note
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I publish posts about 911 outages for two reasons:
  1. I used to be in charge of the E911 network in New England, and I still feel a responsibility to publicize failures.
  2. There are serious weaknesses in the E911 system's security, and I have not seen or heard of any effort to reduce or eliminate them.
Bill Horne
Hi Bill, I've enjoyed your newsletter for some time and usually don't comment but thought this might interest you regarding 911. First off, your Grayson County story hit home as it's close to us and not the first time the 911 district(s) in this area has had trouble. Second, and more interesting, We have been awarded two patents on a technology that identifies 911 callers, including the ones who do NOT get through due to technology failures or network conditions. I think you'll find it interesting: [URL redacted - mod] Let me know if you would like more details, and keep up the good work. Leo The Leo A. Wrobel Companies TelLAWCom Labs * FailSafe Communications * NaSPA www.leowrobel.com Office: (214)888-1300 Mobile: (214)225-5536 Fax: (866)501-8417
Moderator's Note

When replying to a post in the "Digest - Plain Text" version of The Telecom Digest, PLEASE snip all posts except the one you are replying to, but always leave the message-ID and Subject, since both are needed to assure proper reply threading.

Those whom are interested in the technology Mr. Wrobel mentions may contact him directly.

- Bill Horne
Message-ID: <tp9fqr$36onn$3@dont-email.me> Date: 6 Jan 2023 10:47:39 -0500 From: Bill Horne <malQRMassimilation@gmail.com> Subject: Exec: FWA is an “Excess Capacity Model” But T-Mobile is Considering Capex to Expand It Posted on January 4, 2023 by Joan Engebretson To date, T-Mobile has only offered fixed wireless access (FWA) where the company has excess capacity not needed to support its mobile business. But the company hasn’t ruled out a capital investment to enable FWA expansion, said T-Mobile Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President Peter Osvaldik at an investor conference today. Osvaldik reiterated T-Mobile’s current FWA strategy, which he called an “excess capacity model.” He also noted that the company’s priority is to protect its postpaid mobile phone business, which offers the highest customer lifetime value. FWA is only offered to customers in cellsite sectors where the full capacity isn’t needed to support the mobile business. https://www.telecompetitor.com/exec-fwa-is-an-excess-capacity-model-but-t-mobile-is-considering-capex-to-expand-it/ -- (Please remove QRM for direct replies)
End of telecom Digest Sun, 08 Jan 2023
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